Pflugerville ISD Local Innovation Plan Passed during the 84th Legislative Session, House Bill 1842 allows Texas school districts to pursue the designation of ‘District of Innovation,’ a provision that enables traditional independent school districts to access many of the flexibilities that are currently available to open-enrollment charter schools. House Bill 1842 was also intended to generate greater flexibility, local control, and innovation to better meet the needs of Texas students. Through the development and approval of a ‘Local Innovation Plan,’ a district may obtain certain exemptions from the Texas Education Code to advance their local strategic priorities. On March 23, 2017, the Pflugerville ISD Board of Trustees officially launched the process to consider becoming a District of Innovation and later appointed an 84-member committee to write a Local Innovation Plan, if deemed appropriate.

SCHOOL START DATE EXEMPTION Texas Education Code Section 25.0811 specifies that a school district may not begin instruction for students for a school year before the fourth Monday in August. Rationale of Exemption The restriction of a specific start date prohibits the creation of a balanced and student-centered calendar. This exemption would allow the district to determine locally, on an annual basis, what best meets the needs of the students, the school, and the community. Benefits of Exemption Flexibility would have the following advantages: ● A better balance between instructional days during each semester. Currently and in the past, there has been upward of a fifteen day instructional difference between the Fall and Spring semesters. ● More instructional days in advance of standardized assessments, such as Advanced Placement, STAAR and EOC exams. ● Additional instructional time after the last official day of school to provide accelerated instruction for students retaking a STAAR or EOC exam over the summer. ● More flexibility to offer a full array of dual credit courses and better serve students, thus working more collaboratively with our institutions of higher education. ● More balanced distribution of instructional time for one-semester coursework, as students who currently take a one-semester course in the fall have fewer instructional days to master course content than students who take the same one-semester course in the spring.

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Implementation Guidance When planning the student and staff calendars, the District shall ensure the following: ● Changes to the student and staff calendars specified in this proposal must not go into effect until the 2018-19 school year. ● Upon adoption of the Local Innovation Plan, the public must be notified that the school year may start earlier than the fourth Monday in August for the following school year. ● Winter Break should serve as the midpoint of the school year. ● Adjustments to the student and staff calendars must be budget-neutral. ● The start date for any school year will be limited to the month of August. However, the DAAC shall take staff, parent, student, and community survey data and other practical concerns into consideration during the development of the instructional calendar.

TEACHER CONTRACT SERVICE DAYS Texas Education Code Section 21.401 requires educators employed on a 10-month contract to provide a minimum of 187 days of service. Rationale for Exemption The passage of HB 2610 changed the required days of instruction to minutes; however, the law did not address contract days for 10-month contract employees. The determination of how many days are required to fulfill a teacher’s contract should be a local decision. The exemption would allow the district to determine locally, on an annual basis, what best meets the needs of the students, the school, and the community. Benefits of Exemption Flexibility would have the following advantages: ● Enhanced teacher recruitment and retention. ● Improved teacher morale. ● Provide teachers more opportunities during the summer months to seek out beneficial staff development that relates to their field. ● Better alignment of the required number of teacher days with the number of required student minutes. Implementation Guidance When establishing teacher contract days, the District shall ensure the following: ● Reduction in contract days shall not result in a reduction in teacher salaries and shall be budget-neutral. ● Reduction in days cannot exceed 5 days. Should a reduction occur after the academic calendar and/or teacher contracts have been executed, the Board of Trustees may consider and pass a gift of public funds resolution; providing teacher compensation for the reduced days.

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● The exact number of days would be dependent upon the specific calendar for that school year, but would not exceed a maximum of 187 days.

TERM The term of a district's designation as a district of innovation may not exceed five calendar years, unless terminated or amended earlier by the Board of Trustees in accordance with the law. ​ The Plan is effective upon district approval and notification of the plan to the Texas Education Agency. A district may only have one innovation plan at any given time. The​ ​District Academic Advisory Council will continually monitor the effectiveness of the Plan and recommend to the Board any suggested modifications as needed to address innovative disruptions. The Board of Trustees has the right to amend or terminate the plan at any time and will review the plan annually. If additions or revisions are recommended, the revision process will resume with the District of Innovation Committee​. As appropriate,the District of Innovation Committee encourages the Pflugerville ISD to exercise these exemptions as soon as the Board approves the plan.

AMENDMENT, REVOCATION, OR RENEWAL OF LOCAL INNOVATION PLAN This Plan may be amended, rescinded, or renewed if the action is approved by a vote of the District Academic Advisory Council, and the board of trustees in the same manner as required for initial adoption of a local innovation plan under Section 12A.005.

TERMINATION BY COMMISSIONER The commissioner may terminate our district's designation as a district of innovation if the district receives for two consecutive school years: 1. an unacceptable academic performance rating under Section 39.054; 2. an unacceptable financial accountability rating under Section 39.082; or 3. an unacceptable academic performance rating under Section 39.054 for one of the school years and an unacceptable financial accountability rating under Section 39.082 for the other school year. Instead of terminating a district's designation as authorized by Subsection (a), the commissioner may permit the district to amend the district's local innovation plan to address concerns specified by the commissioner.

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The commissioner shall terminate a district's designation as a district of innovation if the district receives for three consecutive school years: 1. an unacceptable academic performance rating under Section 39.054; 2. an unacceptable financial accountability rating under Section 39.082; or 3. any combination of one or more unacceptable ratings under Subdivision (1) and one or more unacceptable ratings under Subdivision (2). A decision by the commissioner under this section is final and may not be appealed.

IMPLEMENTATION Before an exemption becomes operational, the District shall ensure: ● Specific implementation plans are developed in conjunction with and/or by the appropriate campuses and departments; ● Implementation plans will be presented to the District Academic Advisory Council for feedback and recommendations. ● Adjustments to Board policy or District regulations will be reviewed by school attorneys and adopted where appropriate.

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